Six apps to help CA students with revision

It goes without saying that there’s no substitute for putting in the hours with the material, however, here are a few apps that might just make things easier for you.

ExamTime is a free web service that gives you a place to organize mind maps, flashcards, quizzes, reports, class notes, and more. You can use it to store your own notes and class materials, or use it to collaborate with classmates.

It has specific templates for creating mind maps, flashcards, notes, and quizzes, so they're the easiest to add. As you upload them, you create a collection of study data that's easy to refer to when you need to brush up for an exam.

The service's study planner also makes it easy to build a schedule to help make sure you're studying the right topics at the best times.

This is the app you need if you’re having trouble getting movitated. stickk users set up a "commitment contract" where they agree to achieve a certain goal, such as losing weight, exercising more or working for their TPE exam.

They sign a legally binding contract that will send their money to third parties, including either individuals (referred to as "Friend or Foe") or a number of organisations and charities, if they don’t keep up their end of the bargain.

The site also allows for referees - people selected by the user to help monitor the progress of their contract. When a user submits a report to the website, the referee is asked to confirm the accuracy of the report.

It’s a bit drastic, but might work if you’re really struggling to get into gear.

According to the theory, a mind map – a kind of diagram which represents all the information you need to learn, present or analyse, in a visual manner – enables you to get to grips with a large body of information, increase memory retention during the revision process and even boost your creativity.

Studying from written texts, on the other hand, forces us to read from left to right, a process we can find tiring and resulting to a loss of interest and focus. Mind maps, on the other hand, allow us to capture and comprehend the associations that can arise from one topic.

This tool claims to be the “perfect digital thinking space” and some people swear by them to help them get large bodies of information under control. There are many apps out there for mindmaps, this is considered the original and best.

Exam Countdown is a free and simple app to keep track of exam dates. You can store all your key dates in one place, keep motivated with a daily countdown, colour code the exams and topics and add notes the exams.

If you struggle to stop yourself from getting sidetracked by your smartphone, then this app is for you. You can ban yourself from apps from a specific period of time. GetColdTurkey will do the same thing on your computer where you can decide which sites you need to stay away from to get things done.

This tool comes from the people behind the Student Room website. It’s an excellent way to build a revision plan that helps you manage your time more effectively. It gives you a clear idea of what subjects and topics you’ll be revising each day and helps you organise your studies around your life.